Worldwide sukkah directory now in operation

The worldwide registry of sukkahs – a directory designed to help Jews celebrating the holiday locate a nearby sukkah at which they can eat – is now available online at www.localsukkah.org. The idea of this service is not to list every sukkah, but to list a sukkah for every area in which Jewish people may find themselves during the holiday of Sukkot, thus enabling those who work on Chol-Hamoed (the intermediate days of the holiday) to eat lunch in a sukkah near their place of work.

Launched in 1994, today the list included close to 400 sukkahs in 26 countries. Most of the sukkahs are located in shuls, schools, and businesses; but there are also those located in shopping centers, universities and amusement parks.

The services are free of charge. To register a sukkah, email details to register@localsukkah.org. The list publicizes all sukkahs regardless of the affiliation of their owners, and all Jews are welcome at any of these sukkahs. There is no charge for this service. In 2011, Android and Apple Apps were released for this service.

Free High Holiday services for college students

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Jewish college fraternity Alpha Epsilon has partnered with Synagogue Connect to establish an online system to find free High Holiday services for college students from around the world looking for a congregation at which to spend Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The online system is free and is open to all Jewish college undergraduate and graduate students.

Synagogue Connect has gotten more than 700 congregations worldwide from all denominations (Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox) to offer free seats to college students. Students merely have to notify the synagogue in advance of the holiday that they will be attending and bring along a college ID.

“There are a number of great resources on campus for Jewish students but we know that some campuses don’t provide those opportunities and sometimes students are looking to get off campus for a variety of students,” said Rabbi Ronald Brown who is co-founder with Rabbi Charles Klein of Synagogue Connect. “We’re extremely gratified at the number of congregations which have agreed to open their doors.”

Alpha Epsilon Pi built an online database that allows students to search for congregations within a radius of a location of their choice for Synagogue Connect and also hosts the online Synagogue Connect program.

“We want to do everything possible to provide more opportunities for our brothers and all Jewish college students to have a meaningful experience during the upcoming High Holidays. Of course, many of our brothers will participate in on-campus services at Hillel and Chabad and we encourage that, but this provides additional opportunities on some campuses and for all students,” said Andrew Borans, AEPi’s executive director.

To access the Synagogue Connect database, go to www.synagogueconnect.com.